LIONEL Messi is one-of-a-kind. He simply defies description – but that doesn’t mean people haven’t tried to put his talent into words.

I almost went on my knees when I watched him, supremely rise to the big occasion, in Thursday morning’s Champions League first-leg semi-final in the Barcelona-Liverpool match, where he scored two awesome goals in the 3-0 win.

If you had watched the match, you’d be left speechless, too, as in modern-day football, I have never seen anyone like Messi. He is, in a nutshell, a miracle from God!

Jurgen Klopp daringly said Camp Nou was no temple, but the Liverpool coach watched nearly 100,000 devout followers bow before their ‘God’ as Messi divinely left the Catalans with one foot in the Champions League final.

The best player on the planet, in the history of football, casually decided a match which had been balanced on a knife-edge. He was like the “Mozart of football” as he single-handedly inspired Barcelona for the close-to-impossible three-goal lead to take to Anfield next week.

Going by his divine football form, I dare say he’s well above anything else I’ve ever seen. He’s an alien!

600TH MESSI GOAL

Football commentator Ray Hudson says: “They tell me that all men are equal in God’s eyes, this player makes you seriously think about those words.”

Messi’s 3-0 goal, an audacious free-kick, was placed into the one per cent of the goal Alisson could not cover for Barcelona’s third. It was Messi’s 600th goal for the club in all competitions, but Barcelona’s deity has raced past so many milestones that they now seem meaningless.

What I saw from the start of this morning’s match was Barcelona’s No.10 playing at a supreme 100 per cent, well-rested over the past couple of weeks. He was looking for blood as the Champions League was his dream. And believe me, what this ‘God’ wants, he gets.

Watching his awesome individual moves over 90 minutes, Messi surpasses himself with his individual showmanship and continues to give us his beautiful brand of football.

Seeing Messi play is like watching a video game for a teenager to a senior citizen as he shows he can do the unthinkable, from the way he walks from side to side, and once he sees an opportunity, he simply creates magic.

For the comic book heroes, he does the extraordinary like a Clarke Kent of Superman-fame. For the world of football, from Argentina to Australia, Spain to Singapore and Mexico to Malaysia, he is a treasure because he is a role model for children around the world.

Ironically, Pope Francis from the Vatican may tend to disagree the God-analogy although he’s a lifelong supporter and club member of Buenos Aires outfit San Lorenzo.

Back in 2013, the Pope met Messi and hailed the attacker as the greatest footballer of all-time ahead of Diego Maradona, Pele and Cristiano Ronaldo.

POPE MAKES A POINT

He may risk the wrath of football fans by declaring that Messi is not, in fact, God, although he is idolised like a deity by millions across the globe.

Despite hailing from Messi’s native Argentina, the Pope logically stressed that it’s wrong to “worship” the iconic forward while conceding that he’s “very good”.

“In theory it is sacrilege [to refer to him as God]. You can’t say it, I don’t believe. Do you believe you can?” Pope Francis told Salvados newspaper. “I don’t. People can say he is God, just as they may say ‘I adore you’, but only God can be worshipped.”

Yes, the Pope makes a sensible divine point. But the global reverence to Messi, in my opinion, will surely be the overwhelming expressions from youngsters in the football field to even the older folks, holding a cane or in a wheelchair.

For them, he’s like  a “God with the ball on the field”, an absolutely revered way for someone to express themselves. Simply because he is very good and brings happiness.

In my books, the maturity of arguably the greatest player of all time is complete in every sense. And after the win, Messi, like a humble gentleman, spoke cautiously but didn’t hide his joy.

“It’s a good result, it’s a shame that we didn’t win 4-0 but we’re happy with how we played,” says Barcelona’s captain. “We’re going to a difficult ground and the tie isn’t over.”

Messi, whatever, remains in my mind as a one-of-a-kind football machine who defies description.

He made me go on my knees Thursday morning with two awesome goals, including his 600th goal, to literally book Barcelona a place in the final on June 1, at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. – By SURESH NAIR

 

  • Suresh Nair has covered global football news for four decades and feels Lionel Messi is an extraordinary one-man wrecking machine who genuinely deserves divine praise
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